Mississippi’s Employment Situation
Share Page
April 15, 2016
Jackson, MS-- Unemployment Rate Falls As Employment Growth Continues. This is the latest information announced today by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
Mississippi’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell again in March to 6.3 percent. The March rate is two-tenths of a percentage point lower than the February rate of 6.5 percent.
As the unemployment rate dropped, the number of people working in Mississippi climbed in March for the 22nd month in a row, increasing from February by 1,000 to 1,221,000. That is the highest number of Mississippians with jobs since June 2008.
For the year since March 2015, employment in our state posted a healthy increase of 48,900.
Because of the growing number of Mississippians with jobs, the number of people who were unemployed declined in March by 3,900 to 81,500.
The Labor Force, which is made up of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, declined in March by 2,400 to 1,303,000; however, over the year since March 2015, the Labor Force increased by 48,900 as more Mississippians got jobs or started seeking employment.
A separate survey of Mississippi employers indicated that the number of jobs rose in March by 2,100 to 1,146,600. That is the highest number of jobs in Mississippi since June 2008. In the year since March 2015, the number of jobs increased by 20,700.
For details or questions on this information, please contact Mary Willoughby at (601) 321-6260 or by email at: mwilloughby@mdes.ms.gov.
